Immigration reform advocates to pray, rally and march in Washington

Thousands of people of faith representing dozens of religious denominations and organizations will demonstrate their support for immigration reform in … Continued

by David Waters

Thousands of people of faith representing dozens of religious denominations and organizations will demonstrate their support for immigration reform in a series of events Sunday in Washington.

March for America events begin Sunday morning with a special Mass at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Washington. Roger Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, will preside.

A variety of religious leaders will lead an interfaith prayer service at 1 p.m. Sunday on the National Mall. A rally on the Mall and a march to RFK Stadium will begin at 2 p.m. (See prayer service and rally speakers below).

Post Metro columnist Petula Dvorak writes today about the impact immigration reform could have on a DC-area man whose temporary protected status was yanked in 2005.

Scheduled speakers at the interfaith prayer service: The Most Reverend John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City; Rev. Harvey Clemons, Pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist in Houston, TX; Rev. Nancy MacDonald, Pastor of Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Manassas, VA; Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice; Rev. Jennifer Kottler, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Sojourners; Imam Naqvi, Founder and Chairman of the Islamic Information Center; Bishop Orlando Findlayter, Senior Pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship and Chairman of Churches United to Save and Heal (CUSH); Rabbi Daryl Crystal, Interim Rabbi at Har Sinai Congregation in Owings Mills, Maryland; Hajar Hosseini, Communications Manager at the Islamic Information Center; Rev. Dr. Troy Jackson, Senior Pastor of University Christian Church in Cincinnati OH; Rev. David Bigsby, Pastor of Upper Room Ministries and President, Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus; Fr. Jesus Nieto-Ruiz, pastor of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oakland, CA, and leader of the PICO National Network; and Rev. Noemi Mena, Pastor for Hispanic Ministry at National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C.

Scheduled speakers at the rally: Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles; Bishop Minerva Carcaño of The Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church; Rev. Derrick Harkins, Senior Pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, Rev. John McCullough, Executive Director of Church World Service; Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Rabbi Morris Allen, rabbi, Beth Jacob Synagogue in Mendota Heights, MN; Rev. Seth Kemper-Dale, Co-Pastor of Reformed Church of Highland Park; Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.); Marc Morial, president and CEO, The National Urban League; Janet Murgía, president and CEO, National Council of La Raza; Esther Lopez, director, UFCW Civil Rights and Community Action Department; Ben Jealous, president and CEO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Gregory A. Cendana, president, United States Student Association; and many others

Roger Mahony in particular and the Catholic Church in general has done everything in its power to cover up the fact that they knew for decades that priests were molesting young men. Mahony fought revealing the records of the priests who abused little boys all the way to the Supreme Court where he lost. This is a man who should be in jail. The reason he supports immigration reform is to divert attention for the conduct of priests which has cost the Catholic Church the support of many in the Irish, Polish, Italian, and other traditional communities and to appeal to a new group that has not been touched by the scandal of priests abusing boys. The fact that anyone would look to Roger Mahony on anything is beyond my comprehension.